Staff recommends the City Council approve the purchase of a D8 bulldozer from Tractor & Equipment Co, in the amount of $1,083,777.80.

The landfill operates two working faces on a daily basis six days per week.  Both of these working faces require a bulldozer to push the trash into the face for it to be compacted.  The landfill currently has two bulldozers, one for Class 2 and one for Class 4.  When either of these bulldozers breaks down, it results in operational issues, including delays for customers, lower compaction rates which decreases the life of the landfill, and staff safety concerns. The landfill also has other secondary duties that these bulldozers need to perform, including repairing slope erosion, building and maintaining roads, and building ponds for Fats, Oils, and Grease.  This bulldozer will replace a current John Deere 950 as a front line bulldozer. The current bulldozer will be retained as the backup bulldozer. This unit has had numerous problems that have resulted in frequent downtime and increased maintenance costs. This purchase would ensure that all landfill activities that require a bulldozer can be completed in a timely manner without interrupting daily operations and would build redundancy into the system.  Staff is recommending procurement of the equipment using the cooperative purchasing agreement (Sourcewell) as the pricing is similar to competitive bid pricing.  

City Council may:

• Approve purchasing the bulldozer fhrough Sourcewell; or,
• Not approve the purchase. If the purchase is not approved, repair costs will continue to increase and rental costs and equipment downtime will be incurred.  

The FY23 solid waste budget includes $1.5 million for the replacement of a compactor. The compactor was in good condition and operating well so staff recommended and Council approved the purchase of an extended warranty instead of replacing the compactor at the October 10, 2022 Council meeting.  This purchase will utilize some of the savings from deferring the compactor.